Welcome esteemed friends and fronds and those from far away places!! Here is my list of Favorite Fictions from 2018. It is very, very skewed toward the short story side of things cause hooooo boy did I read a lot more short fiction in 2018 than I read anything else. I’m aiming to change this in 2019, by the way, so hopefully my list next year will not look like this… it’ll be even loooonger.

I read a lot of short fiction in 2016. A lot. Maybe it was because I was trying to avoid the real world news (or the fake world news), but I found it a welcome respite and easily accessible, whether in print or on my phone. Books are a sabbatical from reality, whereas short fiction is like a weekend retreat. I come up from a book gasping for air, disoriented from what's going on (and I love it), but after a short piece, I open the door back into the real world with a head full of new imaginings.

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite short fiction of 2016, now that it's officially gone in all corners of the globe. I say some cause I'm sure I've forgotten a great piece or three over my 366-day binge. Maybe in 2017 I'll remember to keep a Field Notes notebook filled with my favorites so they don't fall through the cracks of my memory.

And there you have it. Like I said, I'm probably missing some. I read so much ... so much. But what I really want to say is, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" This is one of my favorite days of the year as it fills me with such hope with its possibility and potential and chili. Can't beat that.